Ecce Homo (Behold the
Man)
The illustration shows ‘Ecce Homo’ by Elίas Garcίa Martίnez in
two forms. The image at the left shows the work as created by the artist over
100 years ago. The right-hand image shows it after an amateur artist, Cecilia
Giménez, 80 years old, attempted to restore it.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
The fresco was not considered artistically important, but it
is considerably less highly regarded now. A BBC Europe correspondent said the
painting had become 'a sketch of a very hairy monkey in an
ill-fitting tunic.’
Let this be a warning to all – do not attempt restoration
unless you really know what you’re doing;-)
You can read more about it here and see an interview with the
lady who unwittingly destroyed a work of art:- (the video link may not work for all)
On the contrary, I find this to be quite an improvement.
ReplyDeleteOh dear - I felt really sorry for the poor woman ...
ReplyDeleteThe one on the right looks like a bearded lady from a side show.
ReplyDeleteUH OH!!!
ReplyDeleteWonder what the original subject would say!!!
Yes, I saw this embarrassing restoration on CBC news. I hear they are looking into a further restoration. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the amateur artist 'bit off more than he/she could chew.'
ReplyDeleteIt's awful, I know, but I had to laugh when I saw it on the Beeb news.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'm with Friko - sad (well, saddish - hardly a tragedy) but very funny too. And the old lady who 'restored' it was so indignant!
ReplyDeleteOh my! What a fright that became.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, that's quite a change, and not in a good way!
ReplyDeleteThanks for welcoming me back!
ReplyDeleteI read about the eh 'restoration' last week. I can only imagine the shock on discovering what she'd done to it. Well intentioned I'm sure, but just awful.